SDC overruled after rejecting “overly cramped” development for 109 homes
A BID to say ‘no’ to a developer has failed after a government inspector overturned Stratford District Council’s decision to reject 109 homes at Meon Vale.
Concerns about the mix of housing types, the cramped nature of the plan, worries about drainage – and more – were not enough to win the day.
And in light of the decision going in its favour, house builder Crest Nicholson is pursuing the council for costs.
The threat of losing on appeal and facing a big bill has seen many a council ignore popular opinion against an application, knowing it can only object on planning grounds. But even that doesn’t make it immune from challenge and despite setting out a detailed set of reasons to refuse permission for this plot at Meon Vale, the inspector backed the developer.
The land is off Wellington Avenue and is part of what is termed phase 4C of the ongoing work on the site.
Outline planning permission was given in 2015, establishing the principle of development and then Crest Nicholson came back in 2021 with a detailed – or reserved matters – application. It was this the council turned down at the end of last year setting out three detailed reasons for refusal, linked to provisions in the relevant planning policies at both national and district level.
Of particular concern was: “The proposed layout, size and density of the residential development would result in an overly cramped, dense, uncharacteristically urban development, which would not be sensitive to its setting, and would be out of character when compared with other phases of development in Meon Vale.
“There would be unjustifiable impacts on the landscape, local wildlife site, unsensitive drainage proposals and insufficient parking provided”.
And it also highlighted the mix of housing was out of line with its expectations: “The market housing mix is skewed towards 4+ bed homes, at 75 per cent where the preferred policy mix is 15-20 per cent. The three bed homes are at 8 per cent of the total where the preferred mix is 40-45 per cent and two bed homes are at 17 per cent, where 35-40 per cent is the policy preference. There are no one bed units”.
But the inspector countered these points, saying: ‘The housing scheme would not be cramped for its context and would not harm the character and appearance of the area.
He also said the council’s belief that three-bed homes with a study should be considered as four-bed homes giving that high figure for the latter did not hold water – and, moreover, that housing mix was not a consideration for a reserved matters application. He also ruled out other concerns, such as about drainage, as not being covered by a reserved matters.
Once the Planning Inspectorate gave the green light to the development, Crest Nicholson sent out a press release, saying it was, “delighted to have secured planning permission to deliver much-needed, energy- efficient homes within the village”.
In terms of affordable housing, it noted: “Of the 109 homes being built, 40 per cent will be designated as affordable, with 29 plots allocated for affordable rent, and nine available through shared ownership.”
A spokesperson declined to disclose how much compensation it was seeking from the council, but told the Herald: “We remain committed to delivering much-needed new homes, and are working collaboratively with all parties as we finalise our plans to deliver high quality homes at the site at Meon Vale.”
For the district council, a spokesperson said: “Stratford District Council continues to have a strong track record in terms of defending appeals and are obviously disappointed by the outcome. In this instance an independent inspector has reached a different conclusion on matters relating to design. Whilst we are of course looking to strengthen all of our policies, design matters arguably remain the most subjective.”
